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CHEKHOV FIRST EDITION SIGNED RUSSIAN LITERATURE T

[CHEKHOV, Anton (1860-1904)]. Skazki Melpomeny. Shest Razckazov [Tales of Melpomene. Six Short Stories].

Moscow: privately printed by the author, 1884. 96 pp., 8vo (190 x 130 mm). By "A[ntosha] Chekhonte." Rebound in contemporary calf. Condition: some light spotting; covers worn and reglued. Provenance: presentation copy inscribed to Mariya Vladimirovna Kiseleva with one editorial change in the author's hand on p. 71. presentation copy of the first book by the modern master. The great playwright had just graduated from medical school when he paid on credit to have this collection of humorous stories published. Chekhov and his wife spent several summers at the writer M. V. Kiseleva's home in Babkino.